In Burundi, the transport sector remains very underdeveloped. Travelers are often victims of injustice in terms of the quality of service offered to them, particularly in travel agencies. Airline ticket sellers say they work in a world with little regulation. For many, a regulatory body is necessary for good business.
A regulatory body is necessary for the smooth running of business in the air transport sector.
In a world that is becoming more and more liberalized, transport is one of the important sectors in business development. Unfortunately, this sector remains underdeveloped in Burundi from a structural point of view and faces many challenges. According to some officials of air ticket sales agencies, business disputes in this area are always settled amicably. However, they claim that the establishment of a regulatory body would make it possible to work in a more transparent manner. “It happens that our client is unfairly turned away by an airline when he has paid for his ticket. In this case, we are the ones who have to initiate the complaint process and the case sometimes lasts a long time”, explains a manager of a travel agency consulted.
An amicable compromise where the customer is often wronged
For Mrs. D. N, employed in a ticket sales agency, it is an injustice, an amicable agreement where the customer is always injured. Indeed, when the error at the origin of a delay or a cancellation of a trip comes from the customer, the penalties are always imposed by the airline companies according to the taxable conditions for each ticket. The opposite happens when their agent is the author of such a disagreement.
When the amicable settlement fails, only pressure remains the last resort of the agent who considers that his client is wronged. “We just put pressure on the agency of the airline in question. We can, for example, threaten to bring the case to the general representation of this agency, ”she clarifies.
According to ZN, who runs an agency selling plane tickets, a minimum of justice is necessary. “Each ticket has its own conditions and they are communicated to the customer immediately following the sale”, says ZN There are for example tickets partially refundable and others which are not refundable in case the customer misses his flight, according to cases. Unfortunately, the most unfavorable conditions are imposed on low-cost tickets. However, it is always the customer who must suffer the consequences even when it is the company which canceled or postponed the flight without valid reasons. “And when they agree to reimburse the money, the person concerned can sometimes wait several months or even a whole year before being restored to their rights”, comments the agency.
A regulatory structure is needed
For the executives of the ticket sales agencies contacted, nothing is difficult. According to ZN, the ministry in charge of transport should take action to meet these challenges which plague the air transport sector. According to him, there is a certain legal vacuum which gives free rein to the airlines to manage the files of the customers in an unfair way. He points out that this regulation exists in other countries and that this makes it possible not to treat customers unfairly. Also, he recalls that a long period of complaints wastes a lot of time for ticket selling agents and tarnishes the image of the company in the eyes of its customers. “Clients may think we are playing tricks on them when we are doing everything to get their rights restored,” he explains.
Contacted to shed more light on this issue, the authority in charge of international transport at the Ministry of Commerce, Transport, Industry and Tourism declined to comment.